Autism Case
Study
PATIENT RESENTATION:
Vicky [last name withheld] was a 19-year-old female with the diagnosis of autism
when she was first seen in my office on February 9, 2002. Her mother brought
her to my office citing many concerns.
Approximately six months before her initial examination, Vicky had stopped talking.
She would constantly grind her teeth, making strange sounds and hit her head
with her hand. The most interesting aspect of this case is that after only the
second adjustment Vicky began to speak.
Vicky was born in Thailand. The birth was a caesarean section with no other
complications. By age two, Vicky’s mother noticed that Vicky was not progressing
as her eldest daughter had. Vicky had difficulty holding her head up and was
delayed in both walking and speech. Although these findings were brought to
her doctor’s attention, he did not see a need to worry. By the age of
five, Vicky was still not making normal progress in her speech, and her social
skills were inappropriate. A second doctor saw Vicky and suggested that she
was “lacking growth hormones”. Since the administration of growth
hormones was not legal in Thailand, Vicky’s family moved to the United
States to seek help.
Vicky was taken to Children’s Hospital of Orange County, where the doctors
did not agree that she was lacking growth hormones. Instead, they labeled her
mentally retarded. Vicky did not have problems talking and communicating at
home, but at school she would not speak and was afraid of everything. By the
age of 15, Vicky was diagnosed autistic. By the age of 18, Vicky had stopped
talking completely. She began grinding her teeth during both waking and sleeping
hours and hit her head with her hand. She was diagnosed with depression and
was prescribed Respidol. Vicky had been taking Respidol for five months prior
to her initial examination in my office.
TREATMENT:
During her initial examination, Vicky was very restless in the waiting room
with her mother. She was making guttural, non-verbal sounds and constantly moving
around the office. It appeared as if she wanted to walk out the door. A few
times during the examination, she hit the back of her head with her hand. I
had some difficulty keeping her on the table for the examination and adjustment.
The examination revealed that Vicky had a C1-C2 right subluxation, T2-T3 right
subluxation, right posterior sacrum and an anterior superior occiput. Vicky
was adjusted during this visit with full spine Diversified method and drop headpiece
for the occiput.
Prior to Vicky’s second visit that week, her mother noticed less teeth
grinding. Vicky still was not talking. I adjusted her again during her second
visit and Vicky seemed to pay particular attention to my watch, so I gave it
to her to hold while I adjusted her. Three days later on her third visit, Vicky
walked into my office and said, “Hi, Dr. Neally. I like your watch!”
I was so surprised when those words came out of her mouth. Her mother said that
she had almost stopped grinding her teeth and was beginning to say and repeat
words. Four days prior to Vicky’s next visit with me, her doctor increased
her Respidol dosage because he assumed that it had helped to improve her speech.
When I saw Vicky on her fourth visit, she was not talking as much as she had
during her third visit and seemed very distant. Two days later, Vicky was becoming
very hyperactive and it was difficult for her to pay attention to her mother
and receive her adjustment.
I was only able adjust Vicky six times before she left with her family to Thailand
on a family emergency. Vicky was back in my office when they returned three
months later. Unfortunately at this time, she had reverted back to the condition
I had observed during our initial examination. It should be noted that she was
still taking Respidol. I was able to treat Vicky for two additional months until
she once again returned to Thailand. During these two months, I observed her
condition reach a plateau level that I felt could not improve unless she was
taken off Respidol. Vicky continued to repeat back words that were spoken to
her, but her teeth grinding did not improve on a consistent basis . Vicky’s
mother was happy that Vicky began to speak again, but it never reached the level
it had before she was put on medication.
CONCLUSION:
I believe that chiropractic helped Vicky to make significant progress during
the short period of time she was under my care, and that her condition would
have continued to improve if I was able to work with her longer. Fortunately,
Vicky and her family are once again returning to the area and have contacted
me for further treatment. I will continue to document her progress and update
this case study as necessary.
Provide your feedback on this
article.
© Copyright 2003 Today's Chiropractic